Yep, that's her! =D
My neighbors (the same ones with the pitbull who can jump about six feet high) have a really nasty-tempered chihuahua named Bella (after the Twilight character) whom we see every day, so I've been considering a different name for her, Jon said he was sure she wouldn't mind, hah.
I really like Mariska, but it's not decided yet. Ironically, "Riska" has been pretty accurate lately, though.

The breeder I know, Mike, has offered to let me breed her to one of his two male piebalds or his super pastel in another year or two, once she's old enough and big enough. What do you think?
My male is a possible het pied, so if I were to keep any of her female potential offspring, I may be able to breed my own piebalds someday. SO beautiful.

She's in a very low-traffic area in my bedroom, I am the only one who moves around in here, and I'm almost always in my recliner or on my bed when I'm in here at all, so she can't see me. She mostly only notices me when I mist her, in which case it's "watch your fingers" time about three to five times a day.
And yes, I wash my hands before and after handling my scaly babies, just to be safe. I don't think it's scent that the problem if she's trying to bite me through the glass as I reach for her misting bottle, though.

Mike seemed certain that she just has a peculiarly high prey drive. I have to agree from how identical the movements are. I really don't think it's actual aggression -- otherwise, why would she be so calm, as soon as I lift her out of the enclosure? She could certainly still strike me if she wanted to, but she calms right down.

I'm very on the fence when it comes to "feeding in the enclosure can and does make them expect a meal every time the lid is opened". I wouldn't feed mine in there regardless, but even my neighbor, who recently flung a live mouse in with his, has had the snake strike at him when reaching in to handle it since then, when previously it would just curl up under a hide or explore the decorations and never objected to being held.
It seems far too coincidental to me, and I just see no upside to it when both of mine eat perfectly outside of their enclosures.

I had to handle my male once after he ate because his heat lamp wasn't working right. I was worried he would get too cold in a tank without a proper heating element, so I brought him with me to the pet store to replace it. Far from regurgitating or anything, the little lazyball curled up inside my shirt and never moved except to peek out once in a while. I definitely wouldn't do it again short of complete necessity, but the "don't bother them at all or they'll barf" seemed a bit of an exaggeration, at least with him. Thank god..I'd really rather not have a vomited rat in my shirt. Just..NO. =/

So far, I have only handled her once to feed her and once to spot-clean when she passed a urate about the size of a walnut. I'm used to the jellybean-sized ones that my Nicci leaves, so that was quite a sight.

Feeding her was amazing, I have to admit. "Extreme" is indeed a good word for it, I jumped about a foot with every rat she took, just from the sheer force and speed of her strikes. I sure am glad they weren't alive to feel it, she's like a cougar on a rabbit.
My mother was watching, and she got to "You just got her, do you think she'll take--" before shouting (and mind you, she never swears even the slightest bit) "DAYUM!"
She ate one right after the other with similar interrupted comments of "You sure she wants anoth--" and "Do you think she's even still hungr--WHOA!"
It was really awesome to experience, Nicci is a good eater but he never goes insane over meals like that, he rarely even constricts them with more than just his neck. One thing I can sure say about her, by no means is she shy nor a poor eater.

I measured the thickest part of her body's diameter before I fed her and she was about seven inches around or so. My breeder recommended bumping her up to a medium (which Jon said she has taken before) and then to a large, if the hips of the rodent aren't much bigger around than she is, no more than 1.5 times her girth. I hope so, with three small rats in one meal, she's going to eat me out of house and home if I don't do something.

As it is, I really hope I can get the supplies to build her an enclosure soon, I was going to go last week but my ride fell through due to a back injury (NEED to get my license..).
If she doesn't strike in the tub, I doubt she'd do it in a new enclosure, or anywhere aside from a glass tank, apparently.


I know snakes can digest an impressive variety of materials that most animals have trouble with -- fur, teeth, bones...but the thing is, teeth and bones are on the inside of the soft and squishy prey, rather than a rough, scratchy piece of hard bark.
I'd worry that it might cause damage to their digestive tract, or just get lodged in there somewhere. It's not a risk I'm willing to take, and if the problem really does lie in moving her to feed her, then I will happily tolerate an ornery little nipper for the next twenty or thirty years, as opposed to risking her swallowing something that could potentially hurt or even kill her.
If I'm right and she is only doing it because she keeps mistaking me for food, then I hope never getting fed in there anymore will dampen her enthusiasm about expecting a meal whenever something warm walks by.
..Although it was sort of amusing to watch my siamese kitty hop about half a yard upward when she struck toward him from inside her enclosure, and he was a good two or three feet away, to boot.


Also, I have four stick-on thermometers (two on the cool side at the top and bottom, and two on the warm side at the top and bottom), and one of the little round ones inside.
Cool side is about 79 near the floor, 84 near the top; give or take a degree or two.
Warm side is usually about 88 near the bottom and 93 at the top.
Both are a bit warmer on a warmer day and a bit cooler on a cooler day, but not by very much. There's actually not a lot of difference from day or night, I keep a piece of plastic over half of the screen on top to help keep in heat and humidity, without sacrificing ventilation.

Nicci had a perfect shed a few weeks ago, crawled out the mouth of his skin and it all came off in one piece, and I'm told this is often considered a sign of excellent husbandry (although as long as it all comes off, it's still just fine).
I think I'm doing really well on the temperatures, though it was a bit tricky to get right at first..I must have exchanged more than half a dozen different lamps and bulbs by now, and went through three different heating pads. The 250watt ceramic heat emitter I got brand new off ebay for $20 (as opposed to $60 in the pet stores for the same one) seems to be doing the trick, though.

Also, I just misted her and she tensed up her neck a bit, but didn't prepare to strike this time, even if she watched me pretty carefully, then withdrew somewhat while I misted. I'm probably just getting my hopes up over something as simple as her opting for sleep or rest, but any progress at all is still progress, right?

Thanks so much for all of the responses and advice, I really am grateful!